


Thankful For Being Together

by Savanna (orphan_account)



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Father-Son Relationship, Food as a Metaphor for Love, Gen, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Thanksgiving Dinner, Tony Stark Has A Heart, but Peter needs a dad, don't get me wrong may hosts a good dinner
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-08
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2019-08-20 09:32:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,703
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16553270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Savanna
Summary: Tony invites Peter over for Thanksgiving after he finds out that May's Thanksgiving is laid back, and basically the opposite of Tony's Thanksgivings growing up. Peter can't really decline the invite, so he goes.(Or, Tony goes all out with both food and love.)





	Thankful For Being Together

_“Are you stoked for Christmas, FRIDAY?”_

_Tony looked away from the torn spider-suit on his workbench to raise an eyebrow at Peter. After the AI vaguely answered Peter's question, Tony said, “Halloween just got over, kid.”_

_Peter shrugged, smiling. He walked over to check on what Tony had done so far. “I know, but Christmas is the best time of year. Why wait so long for it?”_

_Tony scoffed, “Because there's Thanksgiving?”_

_“May and I don't really do Thanksgiving. It's just the two of us, so we usually eat rotisserie chicken and watch A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving."_

_Tony stared at him for a while then, his mood unreadable. Rather than speak his mind, he simply went back to work on the suit after a shake of his head._

_\---_

Peter was nervous. It had taken nearly an hour for him to find his button up shirt, the one from prom, and when he finally found it the thing was wrinkled. May helped him to get it to look decent, and after Peter found jeans that wouldn't make the outfit look silly, May brushed his hair with her fingers and said goodbye. Peter had debated asking Tony if she could come too, but had decided against it, so he headed to Tony's house on his own. Well, Tony had sent a driver but it wasn't Happy, so Peter sat silent in the back the whole way.

Tony had invited him over for Thanksgiving, and of course, Peter couldn't really say no. He found it kind of strange that he'd rather sit at home eating lukewarm chicken and watching the same movie he watched every year, rather than enjoying a probably very expensive dinner with billionaire philanthropist Tony Stark, but that was the truth. He wanted to sit in those hello kitty pajama pants he had never gotten rid of for some reason.

Still, Peter was a little excited. He was mostly nervous, though- nervous about who all was going to be there. It would be nice to see Happy there even though the guy didn't like him all that much.

He arrived all too soon, and hesitated to get out even when the driver opened the door for him. When he finally stepped out and looked at the front doors, he saw Happy waiting for him. Peter smiled and walked over to him. "Hi Happy."

Happy nodded, "Yeah. Come on, they're all waiting for you." He turned on his heel and led the way inside.

Before Peter could ask who 'they' was, he was hit by the smell of delicious food. It seemed to calm his nerves, and he realized just how hungry he was. 

He let Happy lead the way and let his gaze drift from decoration to decoration. Tony had truly gone all out just as someone would with Halloween; identical wreaths sandwiched the hallway mirror, tissue paper turkeys were taped between orange streamers, and little artificial pumpkins and squashes sat on the hallway table. They passed the living room, where there was a bowl of artificial plants in green, yellow, red, and orange on the coffee table. Then they reached the kitchen adjacent to the dining room, and Peter's stomach growled at the smell of the food.

Leaning against the kitchen counter was James Rhodes, and standing next to him was Tony, chatting with him while sipping on alcohol of some kind. Rhodes spotted them first, and smiled at Peter, nodding his head at him before taking a sip of his own drink. Then Tony looked over.

"Peter!" He set his glass on the counter and walked over to him. "We were just talking about you. You look nice."

Peter was glad that he wasn't overdressed, at least. He nodded, "Hello. Uh, who's all here?"

"Just us four and Pepper," Tony set a hand on his shoulder and walked by his side to the dining room next door. "She'll be back in a few minutes. Go ahead and sit down."

They entered and Tony took his seat. Rhodes and Happy came in and sat down, Rhodes next to Tony and Happy across from them. Peter remained standing, staring. There were heaps of food- a huge turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, corn on the cob, green bean casserole, two small bowls of gravy, baked carrots, asparagus, butter rolls, a small fruit cake, and pumpkin pie. It barely fit on the little table for six, yet somehow everyone's plates and silverware had their spots.

Peter looked over at Tony, incredulous. He could see clearly that Tony was proud of it, and Rhodes gave a little chuckle. Peter gestured vaguely, "Who...made all of this?"

"A friend of mine," Tony answered. "I can't cook half of this, but I wasn't going to let your first real Thanksgiving dinner be store bought." He then gestured to the empty seat at the end closest to him, "Have a seat, kid."

Peter felt that he couldn't sit there, the end table was always for the head of the family or the oldest there, but it seemed he had to so he did. The turkey was right by him, likely so that Tony could cut it. Peter glanced at Happy, then at Rhodes. They seemed content, and Peter wondered why he felt so awkward among people like them.

Pepper walked in, then, and took her seat next to Happy. She smiled, then, "Hello Peter."

"Hello," he smiled shyly. He hadn't talked to Pepper much, hadn't been around her a lot, but she seemed nice.

They started then, digging in after Rhodes' short yet gracious speech about being thankful. Tony heaped food onto Peter's plate for him, insisting that he try everything. They all talked, Pepper talking to Happy while Tony talked to Rhodes, and then Pepper talking to Peter and everyone listening in (which, he didn't like the spotlight), and then they all talked among themselves and had conversations with everybody. They all ate several plate-worths of food, Rhodes being the first to tap out and Pepper being second. Pepper got Peter some sparkling juice at some point.

They sat at the table for at least an hour even after everyone was done eating, just talking and laughing and having a great time. Rhodes and Tony shared some memories, Peter got to talk to Pepper about Stark Industries and what projects she had planned, and even Happy shared some laughs despite addressing the memories sourly. 

Time passed by too quickly, and Rhodes left after they had hung out in the living room for a while. He had said goodbye to Tony, then pulled Peter aside and thanked him for coming over. "Tony hasn't had a Thanksgiving like this in a long time," he had said.

It was then ten o'clock and Happy interrupted Peter's and Tony's laughter to remind them that Peter needed to go home soon. Peter had lost track of time, and sent a text asking May if everything had been okay while he was gone. Tony walked Peter out while Happy got the car running and the heater going.

Tony paused in the doorway and let out a content sigh. "Are you sure you don't want to take any food with you?"

Peter chuckled, "No, thank you." 

Tony put his hands in his pockets and glanced up at the stars in the sky. "Well, run along, okay? Aunt May will be worried; the drive's an hour long itself."

"Yeah," Peter nodded. He walked forward, then stopped and turned around. "Thank you, Mr. Stark. The food was great, and I had a lot of fun."

Tony's smile was so genuine in that moment. "Of course, Peter. You can join us next year, too, of course."

Peter wouldn't mind that- maybe he could bring May with him next time. "Maybe," he said. "...Goodnight, Mr. Stark."

"Yep, have a good night, Parker."

Peter nodded and turned, walking to the car where Happy was no doubt impatiently waiting. He got in and glanced at Tony as he shut the door. The heat was on and made Peter feel sleepy immediately, although he had been already from all the food.

He saw Pepper walk out and wave, so he rolled the tinted window down and waved back. He quickly put the window back up, not wanting the heat to escape. Happy glanced at him from the rearview mirror but didn't say anything.

Peter had surprisingly had a lot of fun. He imagined that it had been like every other Thanksgiving, a family sharing stories and catching up. He had learned a lot about all of them, mostly Rhodes who loved to talk about all the crazy stuff Tony had done in the past and how he'd always be there to smooth things over. Peter could've listened to him all day. 

He felt...thankful. Peter had never had a true Thanksgiving, which he had been fine with but still, it was nice to see what it was like, nice to enjoy food and talk to people. He felt thankful that Tony had considered him, him being just a teenage kid Tony had found one day. He was thankful of everything Tony had done for him.

He was thankful that May had let him go, and was thankful for everything she had done, thankful that she had raised him even though she didn't have to. 

As he laid back against the seats, he closed his eyes, growing more tired by the minute. He wanted to see her, to tell her about tonight and to let her know how thankful he was. He never really said it aloud to her, but he would tonight. And he'd make sure that he'd text Tony sometime to take him up on that offer about next year.

(Meanwhile, Tony was putting it in his calendar to ask Peter again next year, as well as to get Peter a Christmas present this year. It was just him and Pepper now, but his home still held that warmth and comfort that he had felt when they were all over. He had no regrets of organizing the dinner, but rather was glad that he had finally pushed himself to do it; he was sure his mother would be proud of him.)


End file.
